Partial weight bearing gait training devices (also referred to as unweighting systems) are used by medical personnel during physical therapy to improve the mobility of a patient and to help the patient gain strength and range of motion. The term “gait training” generally refers to a method of training a person to walk, and the term “partial weight bearing” refers to one particular example of gait training. Partial weight bearing gait training may be a method of training a patient to walk wherein the weight of the patient is partially supported by some device, and the amount of weight relief provided by the device for the patient is gradually reduced as the patient learns to walk normally. In other words, over a period of time, gait training assists the patient in becoming physically capable of supporting his or her own full weight while walking.
Institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, physical therapy clinics, physiatrists in private practice, school systems, outpatient centers, and rehabilitation facilities have had the need to provide both inpatient and outpatient physical therapy services for patients who experience difficulty in walking who require gait training, including partial weight relief of the patient during such training. Typically, the amount of weight relief provided a patient undergoing gait training is reduced over time as the course of the gait training progresses.
In some cases, partial weight bearing gait training devices include an overhead framework, track, or anchor from which a harness or other support hangs. The patient may be positioned in the harness and practice walking along the track or within the framework with his or her weight partially supported by the device. Such devices are sometimes used over treadmills to provide more exercise for the patient.
Another method of gait training involves the use of walkers. Walkers are used by children and adults. These devices are typically used by persons who have some ambulatory ability, but who need assistance with support or balance. Walkers typically have frames that the user grips with his or her hands or leans on with his or her forearms for support. The walker, in combination with the strength provided by the arms and torso, provides balance to the user, and allows the user's upper body strength to assist the legs in walking. Walkers may, or may not, have two or more wheels. Walkers may be lightweight, allowing the user to easily push or pull the walker. Some walkers have a frame that wraps around the front of the user as the user walks, and others have a frame that wraps around the back of the user as the user walks. The latter may be referred to as “posterior rolling walkers.”